This is Oliver's point of view and how he ended up coming out of the door behind Steve. It's been a while so I didn't want anyone to wonder at the slight backstep. I am not the best at fight scenes but hopefully this one came out alright. This is not beta read. I wanted to get it out while I was on a roll of writing. I am determined to finish both this and my other unfinished work this year - hopefully early. Thank you for letting me know people were still reading and enjoying themselves. That really has been a great motivator to get this finished. I am hoping I'll have another chapter up before the end of the week.

Chapter 34

Oliver wasn't sure how to feel about the things Sara had said. They made a good team. They understood each other, but she was right that they both had to fight the tendency to look for the darkest solution.

He'd been trying to do better, be better. Felicity. She was the one that made him want to be better. She was as light as they come but that's exactly why he could never be with her. He couldn't shake the darkness the island had permanently instilled in him. If they were ever together, he'd bring her down to his level. She'd lose the brightness that made him want to protect her. He didn't want that. How did Steve do it? How did he see all the darkness of war, of ordering a ship full of men sunk and still not let the darkness swallow him?

A sudden movement to his left pulled Oliver out of his thoughts. He'd been so in his own head, he'd reacted instinctually, going quiet and still in the shadows of the cinder block wall across from the south side of the club. The movement that had torn him from his thoughts repeated. Men were positioning themselves around the edges of the building as if waiting for a signal. Slade, his mind supplied. It had to be. Oliver melted further back into the shadows and made his way around front to get his gear. He had to warn the others, get everyone ready to fight. If they were going to try to break into the club and take out the team, he was going to make sure they didn't get the chance.

As Oliver came in the front, Felicity was rushing in the door from the back parking lot. She started talking as soon as her eyes turned to him. "Slade, he talked to Steve, but now his men are there," she blurted as soon as she saw him. "Steve and Nat are out there with him." Felicity wasn't panicking, but he could see the fear in every line of her body. He didn't blame her. Slade had proven to be unstoppable. They'd turned him back, but so far no one had stopped him and now he had a small army with him.

"I know about Slade," Oliver took hold of her arm to move her down into the relative safety of the lair. Everyone's head turned to them as they made their way down the stairs. It must have been written on both their faces that something was wrong. Sara was already picking up her staff as she turned to them.

"No, wait" Felicity stopped her. "Steve said to stay with Bruce. He said to tell you, Bruce, that it wasn't likely to be a code green, Nat is with him. He wanted you both to keep taking care of Bucky."

Oliver rolled his eyes to the ceiling, trying to keep his impatience under control. Steve was severely underestimating Slade. He and Romanoff were not going to be enough, not with the men Oliver saw. Oliver didn't think Steve realized how strong the men moving in were and that wasn't taking into account Slade who was strong, fast and deadly trained.

"We're going to need everyone if we're going to stop them. Slade's followers have been dosed with Mirakuru. They're strong. I don't think Steve realizes how strong those men are." Oliver was already strapping the last of his gear on.

"If Steve says I'm not needed, then I'm not," Bruce answered calmly from the table where he was running some kind of a test on the little vile of blood he was studying. "I'd prefer that Sara stay here so we don't have a problem, but if you need her take her."

Sara snorted. "Thanks for the permission, doc," she told him, but instead of gathering any of her other equipment, she put the staff next to her. "I'll be here if you need me Ollie, but I better make sure we don't have a threat from down here. Rogers has fought Slade, If he doesn't think he needs Bruce or me, then I'm going to assume there's a reason for it." When did Sara become a Steve Rogers fan? Oliver didn't have time to argue and as much as he didn't like it, he could see her point about the danger down here.

Even without an arm, the Winter Soldier wasn't someone they wanted to have wake up and start attacking. It wouldn't do anyone any good if he triggered Banner and Hulk came out. That was something Oliver never wanted to see. Steve had been a huge help to them, but now he wasn't so sure the Avengers weren't going to be a hindrance.

Oliver turned away from Sara. He was grateful to see Roy had already geared up. He was waiting for Oliver. Good man "I'll go out the back way and warn our people, you come in from the north. They don't get through us." Roy nodded at Oliver's words and they both took off. The two Avengers were standing a few feet from the door as he exited.

"Oliver," Steve questioned at his sudden appearance. He and Romanoff were standing beside Steve's truck.

"Slade's men are coming in from three sides," he ground out. "I saw him coming in as I left. I came back. There's 14 of them at least." He stepped to the side to give himself a clear shot at the North side of the parking lot. "Roy is taking position on the north entrance," he told the two Avengers in a voice not meant to carry.

"20. You never could count, kid," Slade's voice carried down to them from on top of the building toward their left. Men started appearing all around them, coming from each side of the alleyway.

"I'll take that as a 'no' on the offer?" Steve's voice was casual as he addressed Slade. Did he not understand what they were up against? The Mirakuru would make all of these men strong and barely stoppable and now there were over a dozen of them. The crash of a car window snapped Oliver's head toward Steve. The other man stuck his hand through the glass of his already dented back door as if it was no more than plastic.

When Steve's hand came out with the iconic shield, something in Oliver loosened a little. He was fighting alongside Captain America and Black Widow. Maybe this fight wouldn't fall to Oliver to set the tone. He didn't have to take the lead on this one, just hold his own and trust them to hold theirs. It was a strange concept to not be the one everyone was looking to.

"Numbers don't seem very sporting," Romanoff commented. At Least she got it, she realized how deadly their situation was. Steve glanced around him and met Oliver's eye. He looked like he was almost smiling.

"I'm not willing to sit out and even it up for them, are you?" Steve asked her.

"Nope, Can't see Oliver stepping out either." Steve glanced back at him again. There was something in his eyes that spoke to Oliver. It was Steve assuring him that they had this. He wasn't sure how, but his friend Steve hadn't let him down yet. Time to show some faith he decided. Oliver inclined his head to show his readiness as the two Avengers readied themselves.

"You sure you want to do this, Slade? I'd be willing to hear your terms of surrender." Steve's offer was met with laughter from Slade. It didn't phase either of the two standing with Oliver. They both looked alert but at ease. Oliver tensed, he had to suppress the need to shout at his partners that this was something they needed to take seriously. Faith he reminded himself. Felicity believed in this man. Hell Sara had even begun to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"I like your style, Captain," Slade smiled, swirling his swords. "I can't say I'm willing to offer you terms. I'd think about it, but you did side with Oliver. I think I just want to see you die before I take the kid out."

"Yeah, Cap can have that effect on people," Romanoff pointed out as she sank down into a fighting stance. Oliver rolled his eyes even as he followed Widow's movement with his eyes. The woman had a deadly grace that was unique unto herself.

"Hey!" Steve complained, sending a glare her way right before the widow launched at one of the men trying to come up from their right. In almost the same instant, Steve took out several to the left with his shield. He'd cleared a spot for Oliver before he turned to clear some on the Widow's side of the fight. Oliver moved into the void the Shield had carved out. He heard the clank of Steve catching his shield and releasing it again. The power behind Steve's throws was deadly, even to the Mirakuru crowd. It was one thing to see Captain America throw the shield on news reports, but to see the sheer power and speed up close gave Oliver hope. Maybe they were not so overmatched as he'd thought.

Oliver shouldn't have been surprised that Steve threw himself into the battle leaving his back for Oliver to protect. Accepting the trust the Avenger had placed in him, Olvier took out one of Slade's henchmen even as an arrow from Roy buried itself in the eye of the man next to Widow. Oliver finished off the man in front of him and turned just in time to see Slade running toward them. He blocked a throw from another goon coming up to his left as Steve raced to close the distance and put himself in Slade's path.

The collision of the two men was a blur. They were both fast and powerful. They'd traded punches the moment they'd been within range. Slade's blades threw sparks into the air as Steve used his shield to block the deadly arc. Seeing the clash Oliver was shocked at how fast each moved and at the skill both possessed. They'd both been holding back when fighting with Oliver or anyone on his team. He'd never seen two fighters move so powerfully or so accurately. The punches they rained on each other seemed to shake the air with the power.

Absently Oliver pulled an arrow from his quiver and jammed it into the eye of the man trying to get him in a hold. He spun, feeling balanced and for the first time since Slade had shown up in his life, not desperate. A quick glance over his shoulder at Steve and Slade sent more confidence surging. Steve was not struggling, he was a match for Wilson, more than even. They might just end this right here, right now. The fear he had been living in was a weight lifted off his shoulders. He risked a glance up at Roy. The boy looked calm as he notched arrow after arrow with deadly accuracy.

Glancing to Widow, Oliver was impressed at the speed with which she was making it through her opponents. She was more hands on than Sara's staff based style of fighting. He looked up in time to see her fling widow bites from the back of a man she was garroting while perched on his shoulders. His face was a dark red and purple as Widow cut off blood and air flow to his brain. Even as he buckled at the knees she was springing off of him to scissor kick a third man.

Oliver had barely finished snapping the end or his bow across the throat of his opponent when a blood curdling roar of outrage and anger ripped through the air. The men still standing against Oliver and his people paused turning to where Slade was desperately trying to break Steve's hold on him.

Steve face showed his concentration as he held fast against the struggling man he held, one huge arm across his throat. Wilson's eyes were clouding as he was slowly choked out. Steve's biceps bulged with the effort, but he didn't let up. Wilson's fingers clawed at the forearm blocking his wind. He only had one arm free. The other was trapped behind him probably bent up to give Steve leverage. Oliver couldn't see for sure.

Slade's attempts to free himself became more erratic as he fought to stay conscious. Steve looked like he was made of marble, never giving ground as the Mirakuru infused warrior fought to free himself. When Slade's eyes rolled back into his head and his body went limp, Steve didn't move for several moments. Finally he must have been satisfied that Slade was probably out because he dropped his hold and let the unconscious man slide to the ground with a thump.

Taking a deep breath, Steve stomped the edge of the shield and caught it with one arm settling it against his forearm. Fisting the other hand on his hip, he looked every bit the iconic super soldier that he was. Oliver felt his breath catch. Slade was down, Steve had put Slade down. It was finally over. No one else in his family would suffer anymore for the things Oliver had done on the island.

"Well that was bracing," Steve announced glancing around him. "Who's up next?". The reaction of the men around Oliver and Widow was almost comical. One took off at a run, but the shield was flung out and caught him in the shoulder blades. He went down like a sack of potatoes. The few men still standing put their hands up and surrendered even as the shield was gliding back to her wielder. Like that, the fight ended.

"I told you he was seriously fast and strong," Roy announced from right behind Oliver. He must have come up as Oliver was riveted to the fight going on in front of him. Glancing over at Steve, Oliver wasn't surprised to see he had a bit of a half smirk on his face. It was more than obvious he'd enjoyed the fight.

"Bucky's awake," Felicity's voice from the door of the club was like a light being flipped. Suddenly Steve wasn't Cap anymore, he was the man whose best friend was in bad shape and fighting for his life.

"Go ahead, Steve," Oliver told him. If it had been Tommy, he'd have looked like that too. "We'll take care of these guys." Steve nodded looking relieved. He took a step, then hesitated before he turned and hoisted Slade up across a shoulder..

"I better take this one with me until we decide what to do with them," he told them. "Do you have a place to take these men that will hold them?" He stopped by Oliver. "Without Shield, I'm not sure the local authorities can handle them."

"I do," Oliver assured him. Waller might not be someone he trusted or liked but she'd have the facilities to keep these men from hurting anyone.

"Take care of Barnes, Steve," Romanoff prompted. "We've got this."

With a nod, Steve turned and followed Felicity through the door.